title: miR-124 controls male reproductive success in Drosophila.
abstract: Many aspects of social behavior are controlled by sex-specific pheromones. Gender-appropriate production of the sexually dimorphic transcription factors doublesex and fruitless controls sexual differentiation and sexual behavior. miR-124 mutant males exhibited increased male-male courtship and reduced reproductive success with females. Females showed a strong preference for wild-type males over miR-124 mutant males when given a choice of mates. These effects were traced to aberrant pheromone production. We identified the sex-specific splicing factor transformer as a functionally significant target of miR-124 in this context, suggesting a role for miR-124 in the control of male sexual differentiation and behavior, by limiting inappropriate expression of the female form of transformer. miR-124 is required to ensure fidelity of gender-appropriate pheromone production in males. Use of a microRNA provides a secondary means of controlling the cascade of sex-specific splicing events that controls sexual differentiation in Drosophila. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00640.001.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology , Singapore , Singapore ; Department of Biological Sciences , National University of Singapore , Singapore , Singapore.
authors.forename: Ruifen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Jacqueline S R
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Joanne Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yew
authors.forename: Natascha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bushati
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009154:Mutation; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
chemical_list: C572067:MIRN124 microRNA, Drosophila; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012724:Sex Attractants
keywords: D. melanogaster; behaviour; evolution; genetics; microRNA; pheromome; selection